Harry, Xena, and Innocent ExCon
by XxMuffinSlayerxX
Summary: It' a turning point, no doubt. The first of their teen years... it's bound to be different and more eventful, which is saying something. Love triangles, jealously, danger, and heart break? What's a teenaged werewolf to do? Will Xena Sharma be able to handle this roller coaster of a year? Find out! This year is the big one. Rated for language.
1. Chapter 1

Harry, Xena, and an Innocent Ex-Con

**A/N: Hey there! Well, this is the third part and I'm super pumped to get this show on the road! This part is where things get good :D This will be a VERY dramatic year, complete with love triangles, jealousy, danger, and heartbreak. Anyways, I don't own Harry Potter and enjoy! And I'm sorry I took about 10 millions years to post this :P**

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Chapter 1: Perfect Imperfections

If the world was perfect, she would've woken up in a soft bed, to a chorus of chirping birds and the scent of a delicious breakfast drifting into her ever-so-posh room.

But, sadly, a perfect world could not exist. At least, not for her.

Xena Sharma awoke on a lumpy, worn mattress and the only sound she heard was her uncle screaming at her from another room, all the way across the house to her drab, gray one.

"XENA, GET YOUR LAZY ASS UP AND MAKE ME SOME DAMN BREAKFAST!"

"ALRIGHT!" Xena hollered back, rolling her eyes. "Jerk," she muttered under her breath, getting up.

After getting ready for what was sure to be another horrible day, Xena made her way to their fancy kitchen. The whole house screamed "I'm rich and you're not!" besides her room, naturally. Her room croaked, "help me…"

Xena opened the cabinet and grabbed a box of pancake mix. Twenty minutes later, the batter was ready.

_Not quite,_ Xena thought, smirking. _There's one thing missing._

Her smirk grew as she prepared for what she was about to do. Three seconds later, her saliva had been added to the mix. She then grabbed a granola bar and some cereal for herself. Her "special concoction" was for her uncle, Sanjay Sharma, to enjoy and no one else.

Sliding her hand across the stove's magic sensor, the blue flames flickered to life. You see, in that house, everything was a symbol of how much better magical folk are better than muggles. Everything required magic or, at the very least, had a magic sensor. A muggle wouldn't be able to live there, not for a second. Even the threshold was enchanted to block muggles- not that they would even be there. That would bring the upmost shame.

Grabbing a pan, Xena poured some batter on it. While she cooked, she ate her own breakfast. Twenty minutes and a second helping later, Xena had a stack of fluffy, slightly burned pancakes in one hand and a bottle of syrup in the other.

She made her way to the dining room, trying not to drop anything. There, Sanjay was seated, tapping his fork irritably on the cherry wood table. When he spied his niece, he rose and snatched the plate and syrup from her.

"About time," he grunted, setting the food on the table. Turning back around, he swung with foot upwards, kicking Xena in the stomach. She glared at him and started to walk out of the room.

"Wait," Sanjay called, stopping the girl in her tracks. Slowly, Xena turned around, waiting for what the beast she called an uncle was going to say. "I want to see how these are, before you leave. If they're good… you're safe- for now. If they aren't… well, I don't think I need to explain."

Xena gulped. What if it tasted funny from her special addition?

_Oh well,_ Xena reasoned. _It's not like the pain will be unfamiliar. _

She watched, hardly daring to blink, as her uncle poured the syrup and cut up a piece excruciatingly sluggishly, giving time for the panic to build in Xena's chest. Painfully slowly, Sanjay lifted the silver fork to his mouth where it gleamed menacingly before he placed it in and took the pancake from it.

_One, two, three…_ Xena counted in her head, waiting for uncle to realize something was off.

"These are great!" Sanjay said through his full mouth. "There's this unique flavor and it makes it so much better. It's almost… minty! You're okay… for now."

Xena's jaw dropped.

Her spit… tasted good? Minty? She had to bite her tongue to keep from laughing! Oh, this was rich! Xena rushed from the room before he could change his mind and before she burst into uncontrollable laughter.

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Sanjay sat in his study, staring at a sheet of paper, brow furrowed. These results were astounding- but they simply could not be right. How could his werewolf niece, whom he had genetically enhanced (not that she knew), have a higher percentage of magic in her blood than him? She was a blood-traitor for Slytherin's sake!

He was brilliant… but not this brilliant. No one, not even him, could make a potion to enhance someone's magical ability by _that much_. Merlin himself couldn't have done it. Or even that muggle-loving fool, Dumbledore.

Taking a look at the bubbling cauldron full of his impossible potion, he examined the violent lilac mixture.

_Dragon's blood, pickled newts, moonstone,_ he counted off in his head. And the most remarkable, but also the most dangerous and highly illegal, _cured basilisk venom._

The cured basilisk venom was a recent discovery of his. While in Knockturn Alley as his miserable excuse for a niece, Xena, was off at Hogwarts, most likely slacking and causing trouble; he had found a small shop hidden away the most remote corner of the dodgy place. And in this shop a dwarf of a man with a small pinched face showed him something he thought was impossible- basilisk venom with all its stunning magical properties that was _non-lethal._

Sighing deeply, Sanjay tossed his results in the bin.

But what he didn't know, was that his results were true- but a price was to be paid for Xena's higher magic potency.

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Claws ripped through flesh and howls sliced through the air. Vaguely, the very faint, conscious part of Xena wondered what was making her so aggressive. Never once had a full moon been quite this bad. But, like always, that tiny conscious part of her had no control and was dragged under her inner, and currently outer, wolf in a mere few seconds.

For hours, it stayed the same: razor sharp teeth tearing through her flesh and drawing blood, watching vivid scarlet drops get lost in and stain coarse dark brown, almost black fur, big brown eyes clouded with irrational fury but also tinted with great sorrow, feral snarls escaping parted lips…

But when dawn broke and the suffocating darkness was lifted by small rays of light shining through a tiny window, in which the weather was magically reflected, things changed dramatically. The large, terrifying wolf turned into a small, hurt thirteen year old girl. Bleeding from multiple lacerations and purple bruises blooming all over her deep honey colored skin, the girl appeared almost pitiful. Her face was hidden behind a curtain of hair, the same color as the wolf's fur, but her hair was much softer, silkier, and shinier, although it was sticky with blood at the moment. With the water, fake sunlight showering her petite, curled up frame… the scene was the perfect illustration of bittersweet.

Soon enough, her eyes groggily fluttered open to reveal dark brown iris, gleaming with pain. Groaning softly, she sat up and pushed her bangs out of her eyes and tried to comb through her tangled locks with her fingers. And then, with a slight hiss of pain, she clambered to her feet clumsily, almost falling over in the effort. Xena shuffled up some steps and unlocked the multiple locks securing the door and her uncle's safety. Unlocking the locks required opposable thumbs, making it impossible while in her wolf form. It was another one of Sanjay's "genius" plans, though she thought it to be one of pure common sense. Anyone could figure that out, regardless of magical ability.

Sighing, she walked up to her room, pausing only to knock on her uncle's door in a single, swift motion to let him know she was out of the basement and to take something to eat.

* * *

Sanjay was out Merlin-knows-where, and Xena was left alone in the big empty house, aimlessly wandering the many hallways. She passed by her uncle's lab, which was off-limits to her. The door was open a crack, just enough to allow her to see a bin with paper's peeking over the top. Squinting a bit, she saw something that both caused her blood run cold and her curiosity to grow: _her name was penned in messy scrawl on the parchment._

Taking a deep breath, Xena's eyes darted around. There was no one around… she could just sneak in, take a peek at what was on the paper, return to it original place, flee, and nobody would ever have to know. The hard part was convincing herself it was just that simple. But eventually she did and before she could stop herself, she was crouched by the bin, eyes feverishly scanning the papers she had fished out, not understanding have the letters her brain jumbled. Slowing down and working through her dyslexia as best she could, she began making sense of what she was reading.

…_Subject (Xena Sharma) has shown remarkably high magical potency levels, increased aptitude, but her full moons are worsening. The cured basilisk venom may or may not have been the cause of these results; that is still undetermined. Further expiration… _At this, Xena's furrowed her brow and focused more strongly on the word to realize what it really was and reread the sentence. _Further __experimentation__ will have to decide its role in these events._

Xena's eyes widened at the information. It explained everything… Her uncle making her perform simple spells, spells coming easier (unlike the reading and writing), the more horrible than usual full moons, the liquids he injected in her that felt somehow different… It all fit together.

And if she thought she was shocked then, imagine her reaction when she heard the door fly open and her uncle's furious screeching.

"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?"

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**Heh, I'm a horrible person. I've been gone away for such a long time and when I do post, I leave you with a cliffy :P Well, you're just gonna have to deal with it. I'll try to update soon so look out for that :) And thanks to everyone who reviewed Harry, Xena, and the Icky, Slimy Tunnel and/or Xena, Harry, and the Sorcerer's Stone :D Oh and, if anyone didn't get it: 1) the price of the magical ability is worse full moons, 2) I mentioned she was dyslexic in the first one if anyone remembers, and 3) she was able to do magic outside of school was because her uncle was there :P Duh! ~cough, cough~ anyways REVIEW! PLEASE! **


	2. So Done

Harry, Xena, and an Innocent Ex-Con

ALL HAIL THE QUEEN OF AWFUL UPDATERS! Yeah… I'm so sorry about that, guys. I've just been really busy with school and stuff :P I hope you understand. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, followed, and favorited! I love all of you like a fat kid loves cake! But last chapter was a cliffy and now you get to see what happens! Random fact: although I'm not that big of a k-pop fan, while writing this note, Gangam Style was played XD AYYYY SEXY LADY! Lol ok, I don't own anything T.T On that note, let's get this show on the road! :D

Chapter 2: So Done

"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?"

Xena whipped around, hair flying into her face. She shook it out of her eyes, and quickly regretted it. Her uncle's face was red, his eyes were spelling out murder, and he overall looked like he was going to kill her. Sanjay stalked over and snatched the papers out her hand. Directly after doing so, as if it was a single fluid movement, he slapped her harder than he ever had before. Xena's cheek stung worse than anything she had ever felt, but she held back her hiss of pain. She slowly tried to edge her away her uncle, but she was quickly stopped by a swift kick from her uncle.

"I will ask you again, only one more time. _What were you doing?_" Sanjay said in a dangerously low voice.

"I saw the papers and got curious…" Xena muttered before she realized it was her who should've been angry. "But I think you have some explaining to do too! Why were you experimenting on me?! Are those what those things you inject into me are?!"

Her voice seemed to rise an octave with every sentence, to the point where she was straining to keep screaming. Tears were building in her eyes. All she wanted was to be normal, but, no matter how hard she seemed to try, someone or something always got in the way. The list was never ending: her parents, Fenrir Greyback, her uncle, _herself_… It just never ended.

The look on Sanjay's face abruptly dashed any hope of getting answer. So, instead, Xena barged past her uncle and ran to her room. She was done. This was ending- now. She snatched her wand from on top of the dresser and then grabbed a backpack from her rather bare closet and started throwing the few things she owned into it: clothes, some food from her stash, her school things, her savings which was entirely made up of galleons she had nicked from her too-rich-for-his-own-good uncle, and a carefully hidden picture of Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, and herself. It was taken on the last day of her second year, admittedly one of the best days of her life. All she did that day was relax and hang out with her friends, but it was one of the happiest times she had even been through. They had played around in the lake, made the giant squid's acquaintance, and, once, when no one was looking, Harry had held her underwater. A small blush graced her cheeks just thinking about it. She was quickly jerked from her sea of memories by her uncle banging on her door.

"What do you think you're doing, you little bitch!" Sanjay screamed.

Xena closed up her backpack, slung it on her back, and marched over to the door. She quickly jerked it open, causing her uncle who was pounding on it to stumble into her room. His stumble gave her all the time she needed. Quickly darting around his, she ran to the living room, heading straight for the fireplace. Resting on the mantel was a small box engraved with snakes which was locked by magic and filled with floo powder. Xena lifted her wand and pointed it, muttering the spell to unlock it.

"Abran."

The only reason she hadn't left before was because she had no idea where she'd go and homelessness seemed terrifying. But things had changed. All she had to do was last about two weeks until September first. She wished she could've gone to the Burrow (Harry had told her all about it) but she didn't want anyone to know about her "home" life. She felt really guilty lying to them but what else could she do?

The silver box sprung open, revealing glittering emerald power. But just as she went to grab some of it, her uncle appeared behind her.

"Crucio!"

Xena screamed in pain and crumpled to the floor, completely unprepared for the assault. It felt as if someone was liquefying her bones and her blood had turned to acid. All she could think of was how bad it hurt. Suddenly, it stopped. And Xena welcomed the sweet relief. But it didn't last for too long.

It had scarcely been a thirty seconds before she was hauled up by her uncle who was roughly clutching her dark hair. A small whimpered escaped the back of her throat. Nothing like this had ever happened before so it was up to her imagination how Sanjay would react. And she had a very vivid imagination. Releasing her hair and clutching her shoulders, Sanjay spun her around to face him. The rage in eyes set off warning bells, and she knew today would be the worst punishment she had ever had. And she had had some pretty bad ones. She knew she had to escape. In mere seconds, a plan had been formed in her mind- now to execute it.

Xena shook her head as hard as she could, causing her hair to fly all over her uncle's face. He blinked and let go of her shoulders in an attempt to get it all away. Xena took her chance. In lightning speed, she seized a pinch of floo powder and threw it into the fireplace. Leaping into the luminescent green flames, she screamed the first thing that popped into her mind.

"Diagon Alley!"

She tucked her elbows and watched at her uncle's seething face disappeared. She heard many renditions of Harry, Ron, and Hermione's trips to the place, but she had never been there herself. She vaguely wondered what it would be like. Her journey through the fireplace didn't last very long and soon she was tumbling out of a fireplace, all covered in soot. She looked around. She was in a small secluded corner of place, completely devoid of shops. There was not a soul in sight and everything seemed to be closed.

_As it would be, _she reasoned,_ at such a late time of night._

Ever so quietly, Xena crept down the alley, and shops like Flourish and Blotts began coming into view. Scouring her surroundings, she looked for somewhere to spend their night. Exploring was fine, as she had never been to the famous shopping area and she wanted to get her bearings, but she certainly couldn't creep around all night. Xena had no idea if she could ever go back to her uncle's, even if she wanted to, not that she did.

She spotted a small, narrow passage and wondered where it would go. Shrugging, she realized she had nothing to lose so she padded over to it and slipped down the tiny channel.

She briskly made her way down the aisle and something very curious came into view. There was a mysterious wall of shimmering air in front of her, but it was so faint that she was sure her heightened werewolf vision was the only reason she was able to see it. Slowly edging closer, she gently pressed her hand against it. It was solid. But suddenly, from the other side, a bony hand reached out and grabbed her wrist, pulling her in.

When she was fully through the shimmery wall, she was who had pulled her in.

It was Sirius Black, a man whom she had seen on the cover of her uncle's Daily Prophet newspaper. He was a convicted mass murderer.

"Oh fuck," Xena swore. "'Course I of all people would meet up with an escaped felon on my first day away from my abusive uncle."

A raspy laugh escaped Black's lips. "Well aren't you just a little ray of sunshine? Abuse, huh? My old man was pretty rough too."

Xena narrowed her eyes and slowly backed away from him. "That what caused you to snap? The abuse? Because I won't end up that way, you know."

Black barked another small laugh while Xena drank in his appearance. He was thin as twig, his eyes seemed sad and lost, his skin was caked with filth, and his hair was long and wild. Xena kind of felt bad for him.

"I didn't kill anyone."

"That sounds like someone who killed someone would say."

Another dry chuckle. "You've got spunk, kid. Nice to meet you, I am Sirius Black" he outstretched his hand, "and innocent of what everyone thinks I've done."

Xena looked at him evenly and grasped his hand. "Pleasure is all mine. I'm Xena Sharma and for some strange reason I believe you. Care to explain cause I feel so stupid for trusting a random man in an alley. That's literally the first thing they tell you not to do."

Sirius cracked a smile and casually said "Sure. Might want to take a seat, this could take a while." He gestured to a small shack behind them.

Xena blinked. In all the excitement, she hadn't noticed it. She supposed the shimmery wall was to protect it, and that Sirius probably created it out of magic because out of every tale from anyone had ever told her, she had never heard of the building. Sirius pushed open the door and Xena stepped inside. It was scarcely furnished, but livable.

Sitting on one of the two arm chairs, Xena raised an eyebrow. "Alright, so what's the scoop?"

"Well, as everyone knows, Voldemort found the Potters and killed them, minus Harry. Well, I was _supposed_ to be their secret keeper, which is the person who holds the key to the very complicated charm which keeps them safe. But then, I had what I thought was a bright idea. I told James to use one of our other friends, Peter, as the secret keeper because it was widely known that I was his best friend. I thought no one would suspect Peter. But then, one day, the rat bastard sold them out to Voldemort. Lily and James were killed and poor Harry was orphaned. I was furious, and went to find Peter. I found him, and he was in the middle of a huge crowd. But I didn't care; I had every intention of killing him then and there. But this time, the useless lump was too quick for me. He screamed some nonsense that I killed Lily and James and blew the whole place up. To add to the effect, he cut off his pinkie and changed into his animagus form and fled. After that, I laughed. There was nothing else to do, with all the destruction around me. I was astounded that ickle Peter was the one to outsmart me. But over the summer, I saw a picture with Peter in it on the shoulder of Hogwarts age student, so I broke out and here I am. I want to find Peter."

"Wow," Xena breathed. "I'm so sorry…" Standing up, she put her hand on Sirius shoulder and looked up at him. He towered above her, as she was only 5' he was about 6'3. He seemed as though he needed a hug, so that's exactly what she did. She gently hugged him around the middle for a second then let go.

Sirius smiled and patted her head. "Well that's my story. What's yours?"

For a good while, Xena spoke, explaining everything from her parents, to her bite, to her uncle and his abuse and experimentation. By the end of it, Sirius' blood shot eyes were filled with anger.

"What the hell? That isn't okay! You're a kid! You've already been through so much," Sirius said angrily.

"It's not all bad," Xena shrugged. She told him of her friends and how great Hogwarts has been to her. Sirius agreed there, recalling his days as a pupil there.

As it grew later and later, Xena stifled more and more yawns.

Finally, she said, "Sirius, is it okay if I crash here? I'm tired and don't have anywhere else to go."

Sirius grinned. "Not afraid to spend the night with a convicted mass murderer, eh Xena?"

"I think I'll take my chances," Xena smirked.

"Well, in that case, sure," Sirius said, happier than he had been in a while. He pointed his stolen wand towards the corner of the room and plush bed sprang into existence.

Xena quickly removed her sweatshirt, leaving herself in a teal tank top and jeans, put her backpack down, and threw herself under the covers, sighing at the warmth and comfort, something she hadn't experienced in quite a while.

"Thanks, Sirius," Xena said, already half asleep.

"No problem, kiddo. I think I'll hit the hay myself," was his reply as he began his trek to the next room, pausing to extinguish the magical ball of light.

Before he was out of the room, he stopped at the doorway and smiled in Xena's direction. It was a surprise that she was there at all, but he was glad she was. He had been getting lonely anyway.

A/N: Tah-dah! Aren't you just so proud of me for not giving you a cliffy again? XD Aha please review, I won't update again unless I get at least 5 reviews cuz I'm kind of sad and I feel like no one really likes my story… Anyways thanks for reading AND PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD REVIEW! CX THANKS! S


	3. A Home-Bound Train

Harry, Xena, and an Innocent Ex-Con

**A/N: I HATE ALL OF YOU BUT I HAVE FUN WRITING SO I AM TRYING TO UPDATE. WHY CAN'T YOU JUST REVIEW? IT TAKES AL OF, WHAT, THIRTY SECONDS? EXCEPT ALI (GUEST), AMMYCHEN3X AND KATT1222, I LOVE YOU GUYS cx. Also, thanks to everyone who followed. I am listening to Pandora while writing this. Just so you know ;) I will try to update faster this time XD Anyways, here you go AND FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HUGGABLE REVIEW. PLEASE. PLEASE. I'M DYING. I don't own the few lyri****cs in this chapter, they are from Who Are You Now by Sleeping With Sirens.**

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Chapter 3: A Home-Bound Train

Xena hummed as she opened up the small mini fridge in Sirius' equally proportioned kitchenette. She found eggs, chocolate, butter, firewhiskey, and cheese. Xena shrugged. She had enough in her backpack to combine with Sirius' fridge to make a decent breakfast for them.

Singing softly under her breath, Xena stuck a small pan with some butter to melt on the stove to begin heating up. She cracked four eggs into a bowl and began beating them. Five minutes later, Xena had the eggs cooking in the pan. With a quick idea, she grabbed some cheese and added it into the eggs. Everything was better with cheese. She wanted to have breakfast ready for Sirius when he woke up because he had been so generous, letting her sleep there last night when she had nowhere else to go.

A scuffle from the living room signaled Sirius' awakening, just as Xena split the eggs into two plates. Sirius poked his head in, wondering what smelled so good. He was awful at cooking, so nothing decent smelling ever came from the kitchen.

"What 'cha doing?" Sirius asked in a sing-song voice. All he could see was Xena busying herself at the table' her body blocked his view of what she was actually doing.

"Tah-dah! I made breakfast as a thank you!" Xena grinned, presenting his plate to him on bended knee. "All hail Sirius Black for taking in a poor, ickle werewolf!"

Sirius guffawed, taking the plate from her. "No problem, I was getting a bit lonely anyhow. Mm, this smells simply divine! Much better than that blasted Kreacher could ever do…"

"Kreacher. Old house elf. Insufferable little git, he was. Always grumbling something or other about pureblood supremacy."

"Oh. Well I made eggs and I'm not some crazy house elf so eat up!" Xena said, rubbing the back of her head awkwardly.

Sirius did exactly as she said, wolfing down the best food he'd had in twelve years. "So you got anyfink for school shoo need?" He asked through a full mouth.

"Yeah, I got the list 'bout a week before I left," Xena said, nodding. "I'm looking forward to exploring this place; I've heard so much about it!"

"It's quite a spectacular place. Mind taking an old dog out with you?" Sirius asked, finishing his eggs in record time.

"But you'll be seen! You're innocent, you can't be sent back to Azkaban!" Xena exclaimed, hastily swallowing a large bite of food and choking.

"Easy, Wolf Girl," Sirius teased, grinning devilishly at Xena's glare. "Check it out. By dog, I really meant dog." And with a grand flourish, he shifted into a great black dog with shaggy fur. Xena spit out a mouthful of egg this time.

"You're an animagus?" she shrieked. Last night, when he had told her that he and his mates had helped their other werewolf friend with his full moons, he hadn't mentioned how.

Sirius nodded proudly, still in canine form. Morphing back, he explained how it helped him escape from Azkaban.

"Well, then I guess you can come with me," Xena said. "Maybe we'll even see Harry or the Weasleys or Hermione while we're out!"

"Harry, Potter, as in my godson?" Sirius demanded.

"Godson?" Xena deadpanned. "You left a hell of a lot out last night."

"I know, sorry. Well, I guess in order to keep you from having another heart attack; I should tell you that I also have a son. He doesn't know me though." He added on the last bit as if it made everything better. "I'd expect he's about your age now."

Xena was very confused. "But I've never met anyone with the last name Black, much less a teenage boy with that name."

Sirius looked a bit perturbed and worried. "I hope he's okay. Maybe one day I'll finally get to meet him."

"Well, I'm going to clean up a bit. Then we can head out," Xena said, getting up from the table.

"Wait, you have money right?" Sirius asked. Xena nodded as she walked to the living room to get her backpack.

"You ready?" Xena questioned ten minutes later, now clad in a pair of black skinny jeans and a purple tank top and an oversized gray jacket.

Sirius, already in dog from, barked an affirmative reply. Xena grinned as she walked to open the door, hearing the jangling of money in her pocket. She'd never had money to hear it do that before.

"Let's go!" Xena exclaimed, running down the alley straight though the magical barrier with Sirius hot on her heels barking happily. When they were out in the open, Xena took out her list. Besides what was on the list, she needed some quills, new robes, ink, parchment, and potion ingredients. She decided to go find the book shop, 'Flourish and Blotts' Sirius had called it, first and then go wherever else she needed afterwards.

Xena's eyes scanned the crowded plaza, searching for Flourish and Blotts, spotting it five shops down. "C'mon Snuffles!" Xena said, using the name Sirius had told her to as she skipped down towards the store.

"No wonder Hermione loves that store so much," Xena said as she walked out Flourish and Blotts with her required texts and a couple books about pranks. She knew of the Weasley's financial situation and that Fred and George had been eyeing the books she bought. She was planning to give them to the twins as a Christmas present and then they could use them afterwards. Sirius had given several approving barks at the purchase of the prank books and had received a disapproving look from the owner of the shop in return.

"Alright, next we need to find a place to get me some new robes," Xena said to herself aloud. She was still short by anyone's standard (except, perhaps, Professor Flitwick's) but she had still grown a couple inches since she last gotten robes and needed new ones. Sirius nudged her leg with his snout and pointed out a shop with the words 'Madame Malkin's Robe Shop' emblazoned on a sign above it.

"Thanks," she said, scratching Sirius behind the ears. He closed his eyes and let his doggy tongue loll out as he furiously wagged his tail. Xena laughed as he whined when she stopped and began going towards the robe shop.

A bell sounded as she walked in and a plump woman in maroon robes approached her. "Hello Dearie, I'm Madame Malkin. Need new robes for the school year? Hogwarts I'm presuming?"

"Yes please," Xena replied, stepping onto a stool as Madame Malkin instructed. The woman whipped out a measuring tape and began taking her measurements. Xena glared at Sirius when he began barking in what sounded suspiciously like laughter at her discomfort when the shop's proprietor began measuring around her bust.

"Shut up, you stupid mutt," she hissed, heat rising to her face.

"You know he can't understand you, right?" Madame Malkin said casually as measured Xena's waist.

"Believe me, he can."

"Alright then, if you say so."

Xena sighed in relief as Madame Malkin finally handed her the robes. She quickly paid and thanked the woman, leaving rather quickly.

"That's it, no more ear-scratching for today," Xena said. Sirius whined and nuzzled her calf. On reflex, she reached down and scratched his ear. Realizing what she was doing, she stood up swiftly and grumbled. Sirius grinned as much as he could while he was Snuffles. "You suck."

"Talking to a dog, now are we?" said a familiar voice behind Xena.

"She's finally gone mad, eh?" another voice Xena recognized drawled teasingly

"Gred and Feorge!" Xena cried, hugging the unfairly tall ginger pair.

"Shorty!" They chorused hugging her back. Sirius didn't know who the two boys were but felt left out anyway. He jumped up on the three of them, knocking them down like bowling pins. He wagged his tail as the twins laughed and pet him.

"Attention whore," Xena laughed.

"Tsk, Tsk Shorty, name calling now, are we?" Fred asked. "To a dog?"

"Hey, you know who's been looking a lot like a lost puppy without you?"  
George asked, suddenly looking very mischievous.

"Oh… yeah…." Fred said, catching on. An identical expression crossed his face. Xena's face went blank and wondered if she dared to ask who. But they quickly answered the question for her without her asking.

"Harry!" the cried in unison. Xena blushed madly and hid her face behind her bangs. They were getting a bit long; she realized she should probably cut them. But they certainly came in handy at time- like now, they were doing an excellent job of hiding her face. Sirius fell over comically with a disbelieving bark. It was odd how well he could express emotions in barks…

"It's cute really. It seems as though he's sweet on you!" George teased, whispering into her ear. Xena's face was as red as possible.

"Xena and Harry-" Fred began to sing into her other ear.

"Did someone say my name?"

They all turned around to see exactly who they were talking about.

"Harry! Speak of the devil…" Fred laughed.

"Xena!" Harry exclaimed, rushing forward and hugging her. "I thought I wouldn't see you until at least the first!" He quickly noticed the red tint to her tanned skin and eyed the twins suspiciously. "What did they do to you?"

"They teased me a bit, that's all," Xena replied quickly, deflecting the question.

"Must've been some teasing to get THE Xena Sharma this red." Harry didn't have much longer to ponder; Sirius had tackled his long lost godson to the ground.

"Whoa!" yelled Ron as Hermione shrieked coming up behind the group. The giant dog seemed to have startled Harry as well the newcomers. Everyone could tell because he gave a rather girly scream before collecting himself.

"What's his name?" he asked, ignoring Xena's snickering.

"Snuffles. He's really nice," Xena said, patting his fur. Sirius was overjoyed to see Harry and made it known by licking the boys face into oblivion.

"He's… very friendly," Harry chuckled.

"Yes. Yes he is…" Xena trailed off. Something in the window of a store had caught her attention. "Be right back!" she said quickly before slipping away. It simply had to be hers. It was the most beautiful guitar she had ever seen. It was acoustic, black with white pinstripes and a glossy looking finish. She wanted a guitar for herself, one her uncle hadn't made out of magic, something completely hers.

A small bell chimed when she opened the door. She kept in her trance making her way to the instrument. She softly brushed her fingertips across it in admiration. A small part of her realized she should really save her money but she _needed_ the guitar.

"Interested in that, are you?" came an accented voice from behind her. She started a bit and turned around to see a boy about a year or two older standing behind her, smiling gently. A very handsome boy. Oh dear.

She cleared her throat and answered "yes. It's magnificent…"

"Isn't it?" he agreed. "Do you play?"

"No, I like wasting my money on things I can't even use," she said sarcastically, smiling at the boy. He was making her nervous with her cuteness… almost like Harry sometimes did. The boy laughed.

"A sarcastic guitar playing girl and a cute one at that, don't meet those every day," he replied with a wink. The Weasley twin induced blush she had lost only a while ago returned in full force. "My name is Jason. What's yours?"

"Xena," she replied. "How much is the guitar?" She was not about to be distracted by some cute guy when there was an amazing guitar only a foot away from her.

"Thirty galleons."

Xena was over the moon. She had enough for the guitar with five galleons left over. "Yes! I have the money!"

"Okay, then just come over here and I'll ring you up."

…

"Alright, so that sounded really wrong, but all I meant was come over here and you can pay," Jason said, a slight pink tint dusted over his cheeks.

Xena stifled a laugh and walked over to where he indicated. She gave him the galleons and he handed her the guitar in a hard black case, along with some care supplies and a cool looking pick, which she hadn't expected.

"Whoa, thanks! All I wanted was the guitar but this is awesome!" Xena gushed. She couldn't wait to play it.

"For a pretty girl like you, anything," Jason said, causing heat to rush back up to her cheeks.

"Heh, thanks…. I should get back to my friends but thanks a lot! If you don't mind can I ask you a question?" Xena asked.

"Sure," replied Jason easily.

"Do you go to Hogwarts? You don't seem old enough to have graduated and Hogwarts is the nearest school…"

"Yes, actually, I do. What about you?" he asked.

"Yeah, I go there too. But that's weird, I've never seen you there," Xena said, looking a bit confused. She was sure that she would've at least glimpsed him once or twice if they had lived in the same castle for the past three years.

"Hmm, I've never seen you either. That is odd… Well, I guess I'll see you around then," he responded, also seeming befuddled.

"Huh. Well see you later then, Jason."

"Bye, Xena."

The young werewolf walked out of the shop. To be totally honest, she was surprised they even had a music shop like that in Diagon Alley.

She made her quickly back to her friends, who all stared at her.

"What's in the box?" Fred and George asked together.

"A guitar…" she said, not liking the look on Hermione's face.

"You play? Oh Xena, play something!" the bookworm exclaimed.

"No!" Xena gasped. "Not here at least!"

"Alright then, come back to the Leaky Cauldron with us and you can play there."

She wasn't sure if she was really ok with doing it, but she didn't want to seem like a jerk. "Can we get quills, parchment, and ink before we go though?"

Everyone agreed and made their way to the store.

* * *

They were all upstairs in Harry's room and everyone was looking at Xena expectantly. She cleared her throat and took out her guitar.

"Do you mind if I turn around while I play… because I sing too, playing without singing feels weird. The only person who has heard me sing is my uncle and I was only okay with that because I never really cared what he thought..." Xena asked. She was really nervous. She was at her most vulnerable when singing so it was hard to do amongst others.

"Sure," Harry said. He felt a bit mean for roping her into something she seemed so nervous about.

"Thanks," the dark haired girl whispered. She turned around and took a deep breath. She first tuned the guitar a bit and took a few experimental strums.

_Here goes nothing,_ she thought.

"Yeah, yeah

Don't wake me up if I'm sleeping this life away  
Tell me that I'll never be good enough  
Sometimes it hurts to think it could really be that way  
It won't be that way

I'm tired and I'm lost  
I don't wanna be fou-"

Xena's voice suddenly broke. Before this, everyone had looked rather impressed but now they looked worried.

"I… I can't guys, I'm sorry. It's just a little too personal. I'm really sorry. It doesn't mean I don't trust you… but, well, it's a bit like a diary…" Xena stammered. She felt like crying. Music was her private thing and it was difficult to let anyone into it. The last thing she wanted was for her friends to think she didn't trust them.

Hermione moved over to her friend and hugged her. "It's okay. I'm sorry I pushed you so hard to do this."

Xena smiled. They understood, thank Merlin. "It's okay 'Mione."

Everyone came and sat around her; Ron even patted her shoulder awkwardly. Xena felt she would cherish the moment forever. The closeness and affection they all held for each other was amazing.

* * *

"Hello dear! You must be the famous Xena! I've heard so much about!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed, hugging the life out of an unsuspecting girl who hugged back in surprise. She only let go after she heard Xena gasp a bit.

"Arthur, come here and meet the kid' friend!" Mrs. Weasley screamed.

"Coming, dear!"

Xena decided she liked Molly and Arthur Weasley.

* * *

It was finally September first. Xena had spent the last week hanging out with friends, yet still sleeping at Sirius' place. She passed it off by saying she was staying at a very antisocial family friends place. Xena was surprised no one saw through her lie.

Looking at the red steam engine after getting out of a ministry car, Xena grew excited thinking forward to getting back to Hogwarts for another year.

**A/N: I updated rather quickly this time, no? Well happy New Years everyone! 2013! Oh yeah, and the whole breaking down while singing was just there to reinforce her non-mary sue-ness and that she has her weaknesses. Um… yeah… I know I'm not too good of a writer but please bear with me! D: REVIEW PLEASE! **


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